Second Chances
by Mistress of DarkSerpents
Summary: Bree Tanner figured it was all over for her. She didn't know what fueled her to keep going, when she lost Diego. When confronted by the leader of the Cullen Clan, an unexpected series of events unfolds. Bree has a second chance at life, and at love . . .
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Sure As Hell Didn't Expect This**

In the end, I knew it was over. All over.

For them.

For us.

For me.

The rest of the vampire coven had to have been destroyed. I heard the screams, the sheiks, the unmistakable sound of limbs being torn from bodies, heads being ripped off. The older vampires Riley had told us about, being weak and easy to defeat, they slaughtered us with ease. We never stood a chance.

Diego was dead. The realization of that hit me hard. It hurt, like when I got my left arm ripped off once. Even though I knew he was dead, I still searched; I couldn't help myself. My eyes were restless, darting around, looking, but he wasn't here. I wondered if he had been destroyed by the older vampires. If he had, I would have recognized even a piece of him, I knew it.

And until now, I didn't really care what would come of me. With Diego dead, what else was worth living for? Why would I want to live? I wondered, would Fred wait for me? Would he still be willing for me to tag along?

But, would I still want to . . . with Diego . . . dead?

My thoughts were chaotic, my feet seemed to moving of their own accord. I had to keep looking, though I knew somehow, that my efforts would bear no fruit.

I must have been very lost in my mind and its desperate state, 'cause I missed it when I heard approach from behind me. What felt like a bulldozer, something slammed into me, actually knocking me off my feet. I landed on my belly, hard. A knee pressed into my back, an arm slipped under my chin, it began to pull . . .

_This is it,_ my mind realized._ This is the end._

For some reason, I was all right with that. Despite my protesting instincts, which were screaming at me to fight back, to bare my teeth and growl. I refused to listen to them.

"Please!" I begged. Not for my life, but for this vampire to get it over with._ Please kill me!_

The arm hesitated, uncertain, and then the next second I was airborne, flying. A second later I crashed into a tree which groaned and shuddered in protest violently. I crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Numbly, I stood. At some distance away from me was a male vampire. Young, blonde, and of course handsome. His position hinted at slipping into a crouch whenever he wished, yet he held himself, ready, waiting. His ocher eyes glared at me, yet his expression wasn't a feral snarl, it was . . . just measured, neutral. He knew what he was doing, he was in control, he just didn't give in to it all. He wasn't luxuriating in the thrill of the battle, like I'd seen some of Raul's crew do. He was controlling himself, every movement was sure and steady. What the hell?

Though this confused me, I did not really care; nice or not, in control or not, just let him kill me and be over with it.

"Please," I begged again in a pathetic whisper. "I don't want to fight."

Still in a crouch, his expression changed. Dammit, I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was different, something I'd never seen and wasn't familiar with.

"Nor do I, child," he spoke with calm authority. "I wish to not fight, either."

Curious, curious, curious. I had enough room in my head to feel that, besides my despair and foreboding dread of what was to come. This vampire didn't want to fight?

"Then why do you?" I daringly asked. Ooh, brave Bree Tanner, that's me.

"We had no choice. A threat, _your_ threat, was coming. We had to protect ourselves," the male vampire said calmly.

Whoa, whoa, _whoa_. This totally contradicted what Riley told us. He said these vampires were coming to our feeding ground, the place we'd been tearing up. _We_ were the threat? Scratch that, we _had_ been the threat. In the clearing where I'd seen the mighty battle take place, I heard no sounds of fighting now. No wild screaming and snarling. It was over. We had lost.

I was not surprised.

Stupidly enough, I had to ask him something, while I still could before I was dismembered and burned.

"We were a threat?" God, I sounded pitiful. I had to wonder if that's what had this vampire still keeping me alive, my pitifulness. What were his intentions? "We . . . were told . . . differently." I muttered, carefully not revealing all of my side of the story.

Some part of me refused to tell him everything. I wasn't stupid. I mean, I was told this vampire coven was the enemy, that they were going to hurt us. Anyway, I wanted to play it safe, while I still could.

A very small change came across his expression. Aside from the one I couldn't name, he looked . . . surprised. Hmm.

Before he said anything, though, another vampire approached. A female, older than I, with wavy brown hair that went to her shoulders. She went automatically to the blonde vampire's side; her gold eyes flitted to me anxiously. I stayed where I was.

"Carlisle?" she asked, her voice worried. "What is this?"

Hmm . . . so his name was Carlisle. I had to admit, that was kind of an unusual name. Guess he was an older vampire.

Which, I now realized, made sense; he seemed so damn mature, made me feel like a baby.

"She does not want to fight," Carlisle said in an even tone. Ah-hah. I could here underlaying message/possible warning in that tone. I don't want to fight now, but hell, I could change my mind and start lashing out.

The female touched his arm tenderly; he still held that half-crouched position. I couldn't blame him.

"She is just a child," the woman said. "We can't . . ."

Wait a minute. She didn't want to fight, either? What was going _on_ with these vampires? They didn't want to fight? Hadn't they just ripped apart my entire coven, and now I was an . . . an exception? And what about me was making them think twice about killing me? What did it really matter? What was special about me that they held themselves back?

But in the next moment, that question and possible answer became irrelevant. Yet another vampire came to our little group. A male, tall and leaner than the other one. He also had blonde hair, and gold eyes, but he had the fiercest expression I'd ever seen. Holy crap. When he saw me, I actually cowered slightly. Not just because of how he looked at me, but because of the scars crisscrossing his face. Yikes. These weren't recent either, they were old. How many fights had he been in? How many vampires tried to kill him? He immediately slipped into a crouch, muscles tensed, ready to spring. If it weren't for the other two vampires here, I would've _so_ felt like I was in a cage with an angry lion. He was going to kill me.

But Carlisle stopped him.

"Hold on, Jasper," he said, calmly, not like a harsh order, but I _heard_ the order anyway.

Surprise flickered across his face, but he straightened up.

"What's going on?" he said in a deep voice that said he did _not_ approve of being stopped from killing me.

Carlisle had also straightened up. "She wishes not to fight."

"So?"

The woman stepped forward. "Jasper! She is just a child! She didn't know what she was doing."

Wow. She was right on the money.

Jasper looked at her now. "Esme, it doesn't matter if she did or not. Look, the Volturi are coming, and if they see us with her . . ."

"Son, I know their rules quite well, and they don't prohibit making newborns, just as long as they are kept in control."

Jasper's eyes widened, and I saw that this movement highlighted a few more scars. I couldn't help but stare.

"You cannot be . . . _suggesting_ that we keep her . . . _alive?_" Jasper demanded, astounded at the fact. "We can't risk it!"

Unexplainably, I felt frustrated. I knew that I shouldn't, why, when I could be killed any second? But for some reason, anger came to life within me.

"She did nothing wrong," Esme said. Why did it seem like she was trying to _defend_ me?

"It doesn't matter what she did!" Jasper burst out. I felt angrier. "I don't care if she did do anything wrong. We can't have her still be here once the Volturi arrive."

A tense silence followed that. I stared at the three older vampires: Jasper furious, Carlisle calm, leader-like, and Esme . . . defiant?

As if to prove that description of her true, she strode forward, walking a few feet in my direction, then turned her back toward me.

"I won't stand for it," she said, and her tone gave way the fact that no argument was allowed.

I was so damn surprised right now that I didn't think anything would surprise me after this. This vampiress was actually putting herself between me and the angry vampire Jasper, who had the ferocity of an angry lion. What, did she think she could take him on? Or wait . . . no, he wouldn't attack her! She seemed so nice, and she was protecting me. He couldn't, _wouldn't,_ attack her.

It looked like I wasn't alone with thinking that. Carlisle was looking at her, then to me, with obvious anxiety. I could tell now that he cared for her, cared for her very much. He seemed prepared to leap forward and protect her, if any harm did come her way, and it seemed like that possible threat was from Jasper right now.

I was to blame for this, I know. I was the reason why these vampires were right now at odds with each other. Carlisle cared for Esme, who was standing up for me being kept alive for odd reasons unknown. Jasper, who I had heard Carlisle refer to as "son", was going to do something, either attack Esme, or get to me right now, another way.

Man, I hated it all.

The silence was charged, quite literally with electricity. Finally, Jasper sighed.

"All right. We will figure out . . . _something_, but I'll spare her." For some reason, I knew that my dead heart would have leapt, if possible.

The tenseness died slowly, like air being let out of a balloon slowly. My anger melted to a small burning point of frustration. Esme went back to Carlisle, who seemed just as relieved as I was that she was safe.

"But," Jasper continued. "I will have charge over her. No offense, but you two aren't as familiar with newborns as I am." He glared at me. "I don't want to take any chances with her."

_Bite me_, I thought, resisting the temptation of baring my teeth.

"Of course, Jasper," Carlisle responded. Then he looked at Esme, who I was guessing was his mate, and then, hand-in-hand, they left, disappearing to somewhere. I guessed the clearing, the sight of my coven's slaughter.

I watched them go, then looked at Jasper. Yikes. His eyes had absolute loathing for me. He may have agreed, quite reluctantly to keep me alive, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be nice. I tried to meet his glare as evenly as I could.

But I felt like I was trapped in a cage with an angry lion all over again.

* * *

**A/N: So, yeah, I'm writing my own version of the ending of the "Bree Tanner" novella. I always wondered what would've happened if she were kept alive, right, so of course I started writing something. Anyways, I'm not very good with dealing with characters with personalities someone came up with, so I had a hard time about it. Did you think I was way off with these three Cullens would've acted? Was it bad?**

**Yikes, I'm worried now. Anyways, could I ask for a little review? That'll help me continue this, 'cause I'm anxious to get it going.**

**Thanks for reading~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Strange Vampires do Strange Things**

Jasper glowered at me. No, maybe it was a glare. A murderous glare.

I tried to glare back, but the tense energy he exuded almost had me cowering. I stood my ground, summoning my courage . . . and my stubbornness.

His tawny eyes were like golden fire as he slowly crept towards me. I had to wonder, would he do as his father, Carlisle, wished? To not kill me, to let me live? I knew that those two had a father-and-son relationship, but would this vampire honor it?

"All right," Jasper said, his voice so cold that ice would've been surprised. "Listen, and listen good. I don't know why my father wishes to keep you around, and right now, I would say I didn't care, but given the circumstances, I do." He began to slowly circle me as he talked, like he circling his prey. His hands were at his sides, but I saw how his fingers twitched, like he was dying to curl them into claws, or get them around my neck and rip my head off.

"You will come with me, and you will listen to what I say," his voice had a subtle snarl to it. "If you disobey me even _once_, it's game over. Got it?"

I resisted the temptation of saluting him and saying, "Sir, yes, sir!" Instead, I nodded slowly.

He nodded. "Good." Then he paused. I saw that he seemed to be deep in thought about something. After a moment, he looked back at me. "Close your eyes."

That baffled me completely. Did he want my eyes closed so that he could launch a surprise attack on me? "_What_?"

Jasper growled deep in his throat. "Do it now. Don't question it."

Damn, damn, damn. Closing my eyes was going to leave me at a disadvantage. He obviously wanted me to go around blind for some reason. Question is, why he wanted that. Reluctantly, I shut my eyes, my instincts questioning my judgement and sanity. If I did this, I would have to rely heavily on my sense of smell and hearing. It was disconcerting. This was so strange.

"Keep your eyes closed," Jasper instructed. "You look, you lose. Now follow me."

I gritted my teeth and listened as he walked, almost silently, across the ground. I walked, smelling and listening.

It went like this for a while, and as we walked, my irritation grew. I didn't know why; I couldn't possibly feel irritated now, not when my life was in the hands of this vampire. It felt like it was outside my body, like an aura was pressing down on me or something. I pondered over this as I followed Jasper, hearing his feet breeze across the ground, smelling his scent. He had a unique scent, like the other two vampires. It was a kind of woodsy scent. I hadn't been paying attention much to Carlisle and Esme's scent. I wonder if I would ever get to smell them? I wonder if I was losing my mind while I contemplated smelling other vampires?

Yikes.

We were in a forest now. I saw that light in the area dimmed from behind my eyelids, and heard the leaves brushing against each other. I heard no animals though, I had to wonder if they were scared of something. Maybe us?

Even though my eyes were closed, I could actually feel the daggers being glared at me from Jasper, probably to see if I was obeying him. I was, like a good little vampire.

I was smelling a new scent now. It was heavy in the air. It was cloying, and it made my nose itch and burn. The only thing I could pinpoint it down to was smoke.

Oh, how I wanted to open my eyes.

Eventually, we came out of the forest. That heavy smoke smell was way, way stronger than before. I felt warmth on my skin, I could tell it was the sun. Before, I had been afraid of the sun, but now I knew better, after my adventures with Diego. Oh, God. Thinking about him _hurt_. An impossibly intense feeling of anguish gripped me, gripped my undead heart, and I nearly doubled over. I did stop, though, briefly, feeling a whine of longing and despair rise in my throat. I swallowed it back, and picked up the pace, walking in the sun. I saw brightness behind my eyelids, and knew that the sun was reflecting off my skin, and I was sparkling like a disco ball.

A few minutes later, I heard Jasper stop. I did, too. Then he hissed, like an enraged serpent, and next thing I knew I heard him breezing towards me and then I was knocked down onto my butt.

Before I could even complain, and I was brave enough to do so, hands clamped down on my ears. _What? _I started to struggle, couldn't help myself, but the snarl from Jasper had me stop immediately. I started to ask what the hell was going on but his hands tensed around my ears. I knew that he could probably rip my head off this way, or squeeze it until it exploded, so I shut up real fast.

Then I heard it, muffled as it was.

Heartbeats. Big, thudding heartbeats. I sniffed the air automatically, then winced, holding my breath, my nose wrinkling. Whatever those hearts belonged to was not human, and they reeked, like an animal. Ugh.

But I could hear the blood rushing in their veins, hear air whooshing in and out of great lungs. It was something alive, but it sure as hell wasn't human. I had maybe a second to wonder before I heard voices. At first I couldn't make it out, but then I could tell that they were . . . anxious. Then the shouting started. I heard those big thumping hearts beat wilder, in excitement or exertion. Massive impacts on the ground, and growls, lots of growls, . . . and then there was a snapping and cracking noise so loud that I heard it in detail. I cringed inwardly. And then . . . a howl. There was no other way to put it. A howl, like a wolf's howl, tore through the air.

Jasper was a anxious, tense, vampire now. I could tell by the way he gripped my ears, and by the way I heard him muttering angrily under his breath, though I couldn't make out what he was saying. It sounded like he threw in a few foul oaths. I focused on the other sounds.

The howl cut off, only to be replaced with an awful snarling noise. It sounded like it was being roared out, and like whatever was making the noise was in trouble, or in pain. I had to wonder what the hell was making this noise. Was it a vampire? Had a vampire been hurt, maybe lost a limb or two? And what of the big things I'd heard, the things that weren't vamps. The snarling continued, escalating. I wondered how this vampire's face would contort to make such a sound. Well, one thing was for sure, I noted stupidly. They had great vocal cords.

Aside from the snarling, there were other noises. I heard them, despite Jasper's attempt to make me deaf. There were other growls, low and furious, and a peculiar ripping and screeching sound. Then I heard a voice, being spoken loudly over the snarling and metallic screeching.

"Please . . . you have to . . . the injuries . . ."

Dammit. I only caught bits and pieces. But I knew that methodical voice, anxious as it was now. It was Carlisle's. I felt a little bit of relief in my body, my _own_ emotion now, that he sounded fine. I had worried briefly that he might have been hurt.

There was a growl, menacing, like an angry beast protecting its young, but then there was another one. It was a growl, and all growls are meant to tell people to back the hell off, but this one wasn't menacing. It was like . . . a calm growl, if there was such a thing. I listened the best I could, feeling unbelievably frustrated that I couldn't open my eyes and see what was going on, or listen for real.

There was another calm-sounding growl, and then I heard Carlisle say, "Thank you."

The snarling had slowly went from anguished, to small pain-filled growls, and a little bit of whimpering. The hands on my ears tightened, and I almost couldn't hear anything, and after a few infuriating minutes, they loosened a bit, but I heard now growling or whimpering now. No big heartbeats either.

Well, damn.

I was unbelievably curious as to what had just gone down. I tried to categorize it all and come up with a final conclusion. All right, there was something that was big and alive, here, with the vampires. Then something had happened, something that caused everyone to kind of freak out. Then the screeching and ripping sound, and then that awful howl. Follow that with the snarling of the howler vamp, and then Carlisle asking to . . . I guess help someone. So, that made a _lot_ of sense. Ha. As if. I didn't have a freaking clue. Jeez. I wish I could have looked, but I liked my head connected to my body.

For a little bit, I sat there, my only sense that wasn't prohibited my sense of smell. The strongest scent was that smoke, and another heavy scent. Something like perfume, like someone put on way too much. Or maybe incense. Hmm. Why did it seem so familiar? As I wondered, I noticed that Jasper, who had been relatively calm, tense up all over again. If anything, he was as tense as a crossbow about to release an arrow.

Then I smelled it.

It was a human, a human who smelled too good to be true. I recognized this scent almost instantly; it was the scent that Riley had trained us to track, from that red blouse. I inhaled automatically, and the scent sent my throat burning, like a blazing fire. Holy Mary, Mother of God! It was unbelievable how this scent wiped all thought from my mind, all thought but one. To get to that human and drink the blood. That was all I wanted to do, all I needed to do.

I found myself in a crouch before I even considered the action. My eyes flew open and I took in the detail of where I was vaguely. I was in a clearing, a clearing, I remembered, had been the scene of that mighty battle where my coven had been pulled apart, quite literally. A huge fire, the size of a bonfire, was near me, sending a choking cloud of black smoke rising to the sky. I saw all this, but my eyes were searching wildly for that scent, that human with that intoxicating scent. I wanted it, I needed it.

Jasper snarled furiously, and pulled me down roughly. I landed, but lurched right back up, the scent sending me into a blood craze I had no hope of coming out of until I_ got that blood_. Jasper faced me, in a crouch mimicking a lion's stance, eyes narrowed. He was going to stop me. But I had more strength than him, I knew that because of what Riley said. I would fight him, there was no question. I had to wonder if I'd survive, and I knew that I had no hope in hell.

But my mind was already saying that it didn't care, just as long as I got that blood.

The blood-scent teased me relentlessly and I hissed.

The blood was mine.

I didn't care what stood in my way.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the late update. It's been hectic after the holidays and I'm still recovering. Anyways, what do you think? I worked on this chapter this afternoon and was surprised at how Bree came out in this chapter. I worked hard to get her character they way SM did, but then again, I'm no SM. **

**I hope I didn't ruin anyones views of the Twilight characters. I try hard to keep them as they are, but my mind likes to do other things.**

**Anyways, a review would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Control That I Don't Have**

My muscles tensed, ready to spring. I glared, growled at Jasper, and then lunged. I was stronger and faster.

Apparently, I wasn't smarter though.

My goal had been to go as fast as I could to get to the blood. My mind had already calculated the distance. After I lunged, all I needed to do was another bound and then pounce on the prey, _my_ prey. My brain had done all this, thinking that I _would_ get the blood, but it hadn't thought of anything if I was _stopped_.

Jasper grabbed me, his arms like iron as they wrapped around my body. I struggled violently, shrieking out furious growls and foul oaths. Wildly, I twisted around, trying to bite him. My teeth found purchase in his shoulder, and part of me gloated in the fact that he would have a scar from me now. I didn't care if he'd kill me now. I just wanted that blood, and wanted him to l_et me go_.

My struggles weren't in vain, but he was so damn strong. With a snarl, he threw me on the ground, on my belly, and put a foot on my back. His hands grabbed my wrists and pulled my arms back, hard. My sanity had taken a time-out, and I thrashed the best I could. _No, no, no!_ A voice in my voice in my screamed in defiance. _Let me go!_

I felt an uncomfortable tugging sensation in my arms, not painful, just uncomfortable. I growled, angling my head around to see what caused it. Oh, right. Jasper was pulling my arms, and I realized that he was dangerously close to ripping them off. My sanity returned partially, and I ceased my struggles, though I trembled violently with need.

Apparently, my little episode had attracted attention, for I saw other vampires looking down at me. There was Esme, I recognized her face. Her expression was of worried concern, and I had to wonder why the _hell_ she felt something like that towards me. There was a petite black-haired female, tiny in the extreme, who was looking at me, to Jasper with a little crease forming between her eyebrows. Then there was another one, a huge male with curly dark hair, who unbelievably was repressing a smile.

What the hell?

If I had any chance of maybe breaking free and getting to that human with the best-smelling blood, it was shot down and stomped on. No way good I break free now, not with three other vampires here. The fight in me withered away and my motions ceased altogether. I panted, though I wasn't tired, probably just because of the situation. I slumped on the ground and glared at the grass.

I heard a deep voice speak up, and heard whoever spoke repress laughter. "Crazy little newborn, isn't she?"

"It's not funny, Emmett," snarled Jasper.

But the vampire just laughed.

"What happened?" I recognized Esme's voice.

Jasper sighed long-sufferingly. "She lost control when she caught the scent."

The laughter stopped. "Oh," said the one called Emmett.

I had to wonder what that meant to them. Yeah, I caught a scent, a really good scent, and possibly lost control. Okay, scratch that, I _did_ lose control, considering my current position. But, so what if I caught the scent? It was just a human's scent! Big freaking whoop!

My irritation broke through the little bit of sanity that remained in me, and I growled quietly. Jasper, of course, yanked on my arms. I shut up, seething.

"What are you gonna do with her?" asked Emmett.

Ha, I knew the answer. I had disobeyed Jasper, and what had he said? If I don't listen to then it was game over. Well, I screwed up, big time at that, and whoops, game over.

_Fine,_ I decided. _Let him do what he wants. I don't care._ I gloated over the dumb fact that I bit him, and once again, was happy that he would have a scar. A little reminder of me.

"Alice," I was surprised that this was Esme. "What do you see happening?"

Okay, I was lost. What was that supposed to mean? Was this Alice looking elsewhere, not paying to attention to this freaked up situation? I chanced my luck, and angled my head to look at the ones above me. Emmett was the big one, so the little one was Alice. Her tawny eyes were unfocused, staring at something far away. Or maybe something she could only see. Everyone stared at her. Finally, she blinked and looked at Jasper.

"She won't do anything," she said in a chirpy voice that sounded confident.

Jasper tensed anyway, his grip on my wrists like shackles.

"Really, Jazz, don't worry. She's relatively obedient. I think because she smelled the scent was the only reason why she lost it."

"Chill, bro," said Emmett. "She'll be a good little newborn." I guess he believed Alice.

Esme also seemed to, for she gave Jasper a meaningful look with intense golden eyes.

I felt like my life was balanced on the tip of a knife; it could fall one way, or another. It was all up to Jasper, and me, if I behaved.

"I'll be good," I muttered.

Jasper gave another tug and said, "Shut up," but then he sighed as he was continued to be looked at. "Fine," he said reluctantly, and I heard traces of defeat in his voice. "But," now his voice was a growl. I was strangely getting used to that. "If she does anything like that again, or anything _close_ to it, I will not spare her. This is her second chance."

Ooh, I'm so scared. I'm shaking in my boots. But despite my bitterness aimed at him, I knew that he wasn't kidding. This was my second chance, and if I blew it, I wouldn't get a third.

Well, hell.

I nodded, my chin brushing the ground and he released my wrists. If I were still human, I bet I would have been grateful for the blood flow that my arms had been deprived of. But I wasn't human, and I was anything but grateful right now.

I sat up, crossed my legs and folded my arms, resisting sticking my tongue out. The other vampires seemed to relax a fraction of an inch, except Alice. She seemed relatively at ease, at least for now. I sighed.

Then I wished I hadn't.

Because with that simple inhaling and exhaling, I got almost the full force of that scent. I had weirdly enough not noticed it before, probably because I had been inhaling the scent of dirt and grass so much, but now, ugh! I bit my lip, digging my razor-sharp teeth into my granite lips, trying not to breathe. The other vampires gave wary looks to Jasper, who nodded tersely, before going back to wherever they had been. I really couldn't see it that much because of the cloud of smoke.

Jasper gave a hiss of warning, low and deadly. He obviously saw me struggle, hell, I wasn't trying to be subtle about it. But how could he be so calm? He was breathing, inhaling that scent, and he wasn't freaking out like I was. I involuntarily inhaled, and my throat felt like I'd swallowed a white-hot branding iron. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Don't breathe! Don't move!

I tried to freeze my body, make myself immobile, but I couldn't help the whine of longing that burst from my burning throat.

I glared ahead of me, feeling my sanity threatening to take another time-out. Ugh, ugh, ugh! It was like the scent was visible, in smoky wisps, inviting me to follow it and receive a reward. I imagined to where it led, even craned my head around the fire.

Well . . . huh.

There was a figure lying on the ground; a person. It was either a female, or a small boy, because their boots were small. There were to vampires kneeling over the person, and I wondered briefly who the other vampire was, for I recognized Carlisle. The other had reddish-brown hair that was a mess. He was staring with anxious eyes at the person, and I wondered if this was the howler vampire, and if they were putting it back together.

I sniffed the air, leaning forward, but Jasper's hand gripped shoulder and he yanked me back forcefully. I was beginning to feel like he was my parol officer or something.

The scent, which I seemed strangely sensitive to, was torturing me every second. Jasper was there, exuding the threatening aura that he would very well be glad to tear me apart. I had a feeling that at least half of those other vampires were in the same boat with him.

I resisted sighing again, knowing it would push me to my already dangerously stretched limits.

I was up a shit creek without a paddle.

I wonder if I should have just let Carlisle kill me in the first place. And I wonder if I was able to keep resisting my instincts, to fight what I was, to not feed.

Well, on the gloomy bright side, if I didn't resist, I knew that I wouldn't have to wait long for Jasper to kill me.

Kind of made me feel better.


End file.
